DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The global synthetic drugs crisis has hit West Africa, where people are digging up human bones to make a drug called 'kush'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Cemeteries are bolstering their security measures because gravediggers are stealing human bones to make powerful synthetic drugs, local journalists told Business Insider. AdvertisementA vendor sells daily necessities at a market in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Feb. 21, 2024. Formaldehyde also has euphoric properties, says the National Library of Medicine, which explains why kush users could be raiding Freetown's cemeteries. JOHN WESSELS | Getty ImagesJalloh noted that the use of synthetic drugs was not unique to Sierra Leone. ReutersIn 2015, BI's Erin Brodwin covered the rise of these synthetic drugs, marketed as "spice," "K2," "black mamba," or "crazy clown."

Persons: —, Sierra, Julius Maada, Michael Cole, Sally Hayden, JOHN WESSELS, Cole, Mabinty Magdalene Kamar, Abdul Jalloh, HUGH KINSELLA CUNNINGHAM, Thomas Dixon, Jalloh, Salifu Kamara, kush, BI's Erin Brodwin, Brodwin, tranq Organizations: Service, Business, Xinhua News Agency, Getty, Anglia Ruskin University, The Irish Times, National Library of Medicine, Politico, Sierra, Sierra Leone Psychiatric Teaching Hospital, Police, Getty Images Local, Salone Times, BBC, Freetown Police Force, National Drug Agency, NPR, Guardian, Disease Control, Prevention, Reuters, Financial Times Locations: Freetown, African, Sierra Leone, West Africa, Mabinty, Waterloo , Sierra Leone, kush, New York City, New York, Kensington, North Philadelphia

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out something unusual in luggage from a traveler returning from Africa — mummified monkeys. The passenger returning from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that the luggage contained dried fish, but an inspection at Boston Logan Airport revealed dead and dehydrated bodies of four monkeys, agents said. Raw or minimally processed meat from wild animals, sometimes referred to as “bushmeat,” is banned in the U.S. because of the threat of disease. "The potential dangers posed by bringing bushmeat into the United States are real. Bushmeat can carry germs that can cause illness, including the Ebola virus,” said Julio Caravia, local port director for Customs and Border Protection.

Persons: “, ”, Julio Caravia, Ryan Bissette Organizations: BOSTON, —, U.S . Customs, Democratic, Boston Logan Airport, Customs, U.S . Centers for Disease Control Locations: U.S, Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, United States

☆ Sierra Leone is losing its forests. This sanctuary is trying to save chimpanzees and their vital habitat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( David Mckenzie | Sarah Dean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Freetown, Sierra Leone CNN —When it comes to chimpanzee toddlers, girls rule. They are all orphans, rescued from across Sierra Leone and raised at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. Tacugama Chimpanzee SanctuaryHe has become something of a legend in Sierra Leone. The canopy decimation is replicated throughout Sierra Leone and much of West Africa. In the center of the mountains of the Western Area Forest, a verdant valley drops into the Guma Dam reservoir.

Persons: Mamma Posseh, Mamma P, ”, Bala Amarasekaran, Amarasekaran, Bruno, “, It’s, ” Amarasekaran, Pataya, David McKenzie, Sonkita Conteh, CNN Parks, Conteh, Alejandro Striediger, Zoe MacIntyre, Siama, Veternarian Zoe MacIntyre, Macintyre, Sierra Leone Organizations: Sierra Leone CNN, World Food Program, Sierra, CNN, Western, Technologies, Area, Maxar Locations: Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sierra, Sri Lanka, West Africa, “, Conteh, Siama's, West Africa’s

☆ ChatGPT probably won't help create biological weapons, OpenAI says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewOpenAI thinks there's only a slight chance that ChatGPT could be used to help create biological threats. Experts have warned that AI could be used to facilitate biological terror attacks, either by helping terrorists create biological and chemical weapons or by helping them plan their attacks. The GPT-4 group was given access to a research-only version of the model that, unlike ChatGPT, has fewer "security guardrails in place" it said. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: —, there's, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Business, Rand Corporation

He lost in a run-off vote to Weah in 2017. "Boakai strikes me as a grandfather figure – someone you would trust with your life. Official results on Friday showed Boakai had 50.9% of the vote over Weah's 49.1%, with more than 99% of votes counted, prompting Weah's concession. In an interview shortly after the results, a softly-spoken Boakai told Reuters that his primary focus would be to bring the country together after a divisive election. Boakai, meanwhile, lives in a relatively modest bungalow that has barely changed since he moved in 50 years ago.

Persons: George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Amara Konneh, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Robtel Neajai, Boakai, Konneh, Unity Party Joseph Boakai, Carielle, Sirleaf's, Weah, Prince Jaygbah, Joe, Edward McAllister, Clelia Organizations: Liberia's, College of West, Reuters, African, Bank, Unity Party, Toyota, Thomson Locations: MONROVIA, DAKAR, College of West Africa, Tuesday's, Monrovia, Africa's, Americas, Liberia, Warsonga, Sierra Leone, Milan, London, Paris

Boakai led with 50.89% of the vote over Weah's 49.11%, according to results from 99.6% of polling stations, the country's elections commission said on Friday. Final results are expected in the coming days. Boakai, a softly spoken career politician, was more than 28,000 votes ahead of Weah, according to the latest results. Arkoi Sarkor, 43, told Reuters she supported Boakai because she was not able to get a job during Weah's term. "We can safely declare victory – Boakai is the next president, but we will wait for the final result before celebrating," Boakai's spokesperson Amara Konneh said in an interview.

Persons: Unity Party Joseph Boakai, Carielle, Joseph Boakai, George Weah, Boakai, Arkoi Sarkor, Boakai's, Amara Konneh, Carielle Doe, Alphonso Toweh, Anait Miridzhanian, Edward McAllister, Louise Heavens, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Unity Party, Reuters, Boakai, Thomson Locations: Monrovia, Liberia, MONROVIA, West, Weah

[1/3] Liberia's opposition Unity Party Joseph Boakai waves to his supporters as holds his final campaign rally for the presidential elections in Monrovia, Liberia October 7, 2023. The result marks a stark turnaround from 2017, when global soccer legend Weah, buoyed by a wave of hope, trounced Boakai with 62 percent of the vote. "A few moments ago, I spoke with president elect Joseph Boakai to congratulate him on his victory," Weah said on national radio. Instead, Boakai supporters in the capital Monrovia danced, shouted and honked car horns in the rain after the near-final results were announced. Many felt that Weah did not follow through on promises to alleviate poverty and improve the country's crumbling infrastructure.

Persons: Unity Party Joseph Boakai, Carielle, Boakai, George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Weah, Sarkor, Doe, Alphonso Toweh, Edward McAllister, Anait, Louise Heavens, Jonathan Oatis, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Unity Party, Reuters, Boakai, Thomson Locations: Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, MONROVIA, West, Central Africa

The total of $26,000 that WHO has provided to the victims equals about 1% of the $2 million, WHO-created “survivor assistance fund” for victims of sexual misconduct, primarily in Congo. “There is nothing we can do to make up for (sexual abuse and exploitation)," Gamhewage told the AP in an interview. The WHO has also helped defray medical costs for 17 children born as a result of sexual exploitation and abuse, she said. Gamhewage received $231 a day during her three-day trip to the Congolese capital Kinshasa, according to an internal travel claim. The U.N. health agency continues to struggle with holding perpetrators of sexual abuse and exploitation to account in Congo.

Persons: Gamhewage, didn't, Paula Donovan, “, ”, Donovan, ” Gamhewage, Alphonsine, ” Alphonsine, Melinda Gates, Denise, Krista Larson, Jamey Keaten Organizations: Health, WHO, The Associated Press, AP, Melinda Gates Foundation Locations: Congo, Gaya, Congolese, —, Beni, Kinshasa, Dakar, Senegal, Geneva

☆ Liberia votes in tight presidential run-off as many voters seek change
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Many voters said they were underwhelmed by Weah’s first term, which has been dogged by graft scandals and persistent poverty in Africa’s oldest independent republic. Both Weah and Boakai have received endorsements from candidates who lost in the first round. One significant unknown is the voting preference of the 6% of people whose ballots were invalidated in the first round. Any alleged irregularities in the second round could potentially fuel unrest, but there had been no reports of problems on Tuesday morning. “I am confident of winning.”‘A better Liberia’The vote is in many ways a test of Weah’s popularity.

Persons: Reuters — Liberians, George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Boakai, Weah’s, ”, Barbour, ” Weah, “, Samuel Carr Organizations: Reuters, World Bank, United Locations: Africa’s, “, Monrovia, Liberia, United States

☆ Liberia presidential election heads for November run-off vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Liberia’s electoral commission on Tuesday scheduled a presidential election run-off for November after results showed that the two frontrunners, President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai, had failed to secure enough votes. Weah holds a slim lead at 43.83% of the vote, while Boakai has 43.44%, according to tallied results from 100% of polling places, the West African nation’s election commission said. Commission chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah said the run-off vote would be held on Nov. 14. Liberia is struggling to recover from two civil wars that killed more than 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003 and from a 2013-16 Ebola epidemic that killed thousands. Boakai, 78, was Weah’s main challenger and campaigned on what he called the need to rescue Liberia from alleged mismanagement by Weah’s administration.

Persons: George Weah, Joseph Boakai, Weah, Boakai, Davidetta Browne Lansanah Organizations: Reuters Locations: Liberia

LONDON (AP) — Health ministers in the Western Pacific nominated a surgeon from Tonga, Dr. Saia Ma'u Piukala, to lead the World Health Organization's regional office at a meeting in Manila on Tuesday. Piukala's nomination for WHO's top job in the Western Pacific comes months after the U.N. health agency fired its previous director, Dr. Takeshi Kasai, following allegations of racism and misconduct first reported by The Associated Press last year. Piukala was most recently Tonga's minister of health and defeated rival candidates from China, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Vietnam. Days after the AP report, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that an internal investigation into Kasai had begun. ___The Associated Press health and science department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: Saia Ma'u, Takeshi Kasai, Piukala, ” Kasai, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, ”, ” Piukala, Temo Waqanivalu Organizations: —, Western Pacific, Health, The Associated Press, WHO, AP, Associated Press, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group Locations: Tonga, Manila, Western Pacific, China, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Vietnam, Kasai, Pacific, Western, Syria, Congo

☆ Liberia: Citizens vote in crucial polls amid flaring tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

‘Correcting a mistake’Boakai told CNN that his young supporters are now desperate for change. Weah’s campaign manager told CNN no Liberian law prevents them from running from office, adding that the government was awaiting evidence from US to enable prosecutions. A unique electionOscar Bloh, head of ECC, Liberia’s largest election observation group, told CNN this election is different from previous polls in the country. A spokesman for the electoral commission, Henry Flomo, told CNN, “Everything is in schedule,” as dictated by law. “It’s unlikely that any of the candidates will win outright during the first round,” he told CNN.

Persons: CNN —, George Weah, Weah, Joseph Boakai, Seif Magango, Ballon, Boakai, ’ Boakai, ’ ”, ” Boakai, Ahmed Jallanzo, Liberians, ”, Joel Cholo Brooks, Shutterstock, ” Weah, Samuel Tweah, –, they’ve, Eugene Nagbe, ” “, Nagbe, “, Brooks, Nathaniel McGill, ” McGill, Sayma Syrenius, Bill Twehway, Twehway, I’m, ” Nagbe, Oscar Bloh, Bloh, Henry Flomo, ” Flomo Organizations: CNN, UN, Bank, Coalition for Democratic, Unity Party, Facebook, UN Human Rights, Boakai, Soul Clinic, Global News Network Liberia, Coalition, Democratic, FIFA, Liberian, Liberia Anti, Corruption, Washington, Port Authority, US Treasury Department, McGill, Weah’s CDC, Transparency International, TI Locations: Liberia, Monrovia, Pipeline, “, Qatar, American, United States

☆ Congo Ruling Coalition Backs Tshisekedi for December Vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

By Ange KasongoKINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi was officially nominated on Sunday as candidate for the Dec. 20 presidential election by his ruling political coalition the Sacred Union. Tshisekedi is seeking a second term in the vast nation, which is the world's top cobalt supplier and No. 3 copper producer, after winning a disputed first term in a 2018 vote. On Sunday, a congress of the Sacred Union coalition that includes political heavyweights such as Defence Minister Jean Pierre Bemba and Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, picked Tshisekedi unanimously. Tshisekedi, the son of Congo's beloved long-term opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, promised to root out corruption and authoritarianism and has rejected accusations by rights groups and critics that he has fallen short on his promises.

Persons: Ange Kasongo, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, Tshisekedi, Jean Pierre Bemba, Vital Kamerhe, Felix Tshisekedi, Andre Mbata, Congo's, Etienne Tshisekedi, Martin Fayulu, Bate Felix, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Democratic, Sacred Union, Sacred Union coalition, Defence, Economy, Union, Tshisekedi Locations: Ange Kasongo KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of, Rwanda, Republic, Kinshasa, Tshisekedi

☆ Opinion | Why I Treat the Wounded Far From Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Samer Attar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

My Syrian heritage inspired me to make my first trip to a war zone, to Aleppo in 2013. I have written often about my experiences in Syria and Ukraine. In Syria I learned how to manage war wounds in a battle zone with few supplies. The work is meaningful, but it is dangerous and can take a heavy psychic toll, I warn them. You operate with the understanding that you may find yourself dead or wounded next to the people you are trying to help.

Persons: I’ve Organizations: Islamic, Northwestern’s Feinberg School, Medicine Locations: Aleppo, Liberia, Iraq, Islamic State, Ukraine, Idlib, Syria, Turkish

☆ Liberia opposition leader Boakai opens bid to beat President Weah
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Alphonso Toweh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] People gather as opposition leader Joseph Boakai launched his campaign ahead of October elections, in Monrovia, Liberia September 17, 2023. "We thought he (Weah) was going to bring the change he promised, but nothing," said businesswoman Martha Gould. An error in the accounting of fuel supplies in state-run tanks left Liberia short on gasoline in 2020, causing panic at the pumps. Still, it remains to be seen if Boakai and his Unity Party can turn the tide. Weah remains popular across much of the country, and the economy grew nearly 5% last year, driven by gains in agriculture and mining, the World Bank says.

Persons: Joseph Boakai, Carielle, George Weah, Joe, Martha Gould, Weah, Nathaniel McGill, Boakai, Edward McAllister, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, Rights, Liberian, Unity Party, Bank, Thomson Locations: Monrovia, Liberia, Rights MONROVIA, Liberia's, United States

☆ Fact Check-CNN headline about cannibalism at Burning Man is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A screenshot of an article on CNN’s homepage titled “Burning Man attendees unable to leave desert, resort to cannibalism” is fabricated, a spokesperson for the outlet said. “Burning Man festival turns into Cannibalism festival? #CNN #burningman,” reads a post sharing a collage featuring the fabricated CNN headline on Facebook (bit.ly/44ORGHT). “This image is fabricated and not something that appeared on the CNN.com homepage,” Emily Kuhn, a CNN spokesperson, said in an email to Reuters. CNN did not report on cannibalism at the 2023 Burning Man festival.

Persons: ” Emily Kuhn, revelers, Read Organizations: CNN, Facebook, CNN.com, Reuters

☆ Fact Check-Burning Man X post addressing reports of cannibalism is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A screenshot showing an X social media post from Burning Man’s official account addressing “reports of Ebola and widespread cannibalism” at the Nevada desert festival is fake, a spokesperson for the event said. The viral screenshot shared on Facebook (bit.ly/3Zu6Bq1) and (bit.ly/45Mr0c5) purports to show a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from @BurningMan that reads: “Reports of Ebola and widespread cannibalism are circulating the internet. Please be aware, there is NO CANNIBALISM HAPPENING AT BURNING MAN.”The alleged post is not visible on the X account (bit.ly/4881q2F) listed on Burning Man’s official website (bit.ly/3ZbIHPO), nor in the archives (here). Unexpected summer rain turned Burning Man 2023 - a weeklong, annual arts festival - into a muddy affair that stranded participants at the site for days, Reuters reported on Sept. 4 (here). A Burning Man post on X about “reports of Ebola and widespread cannibalism” is fake, according to a spokesperson for the event.

Persons: Dominique Debucquoy, Dodley, Read Organizations: Facebook, Burning, Reuters Locations: Nevada, Black Rock

☆ Fact Check-No evidence Burning Man officials announced Ebola case on X
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence that a screenshot showing an announcement from the account on X, formerly Twitter, of the Burning Man festival saying a case of Ebola was recorded at the gathering is real. The screenshot shared on Facebook (here) and X (here) shows a post from the ‘@burningman’ account which reads, “For anyone who attended Burning Man, we unfortunately have to share with you that an attendee has contracted ebola. (here)On being shown the viral screenshot, Burning Man spokesperson Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley told Reuters that it is “unequivocally fake”. (here)Thousands attending the 2023 Burning Man festival were stranded in the Nevada Desert after unexpected summer rain turned the site into mud, closing access to and from Black Rock City, the event's site, Reuters reported on Saturday. A Burning Man spokesperson told Reuters that a screenshot showing a post from its official X account about an attendee contracting the Ebola virus at the 2023 event is not real.

Persons: Dominique Debucquoy, Dodley, John Asselin, Scott Pauley, “, ”, Read Organizations: Twitter, Facebook, Reuters, U.S Bureau of Land Management, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, ” Reuters, Black, Black Rock City Locations: Nevada, Black Rock

☆ Fact Check-Burning Man attendees weren't given posters warning of viral symptoms, says spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence that attendees at the 2023 Burning Man festival were handed posters warning to stay inside if they experience certain viral symptoms. A spokesperson for the festival said to Reuters an image detailing viral symptoms is fake and that rumors of a transmissible outbreak at the festival are untrue. One user shared the image on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, with a caption that reads: “Supposedly, these posters are being shared outside of people's campers at Burning Man” (ghostarchive.org/archive/zH1tg). A spokesperson for the festival said to Reuters that the image is fake. The image appears to be altered from a graphic uploaded to stock image websites detailing the symptoms of Dengue Fever.

Persons: ”, Read Organizations: Reuters, Burning, ” Reuters Locations: Black Rock, Nevada

☆ Fact Check-Screenshot of CDC post on Ebola outbreak at Burning Man is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It is recommended that all Burning Man attendees remain in their dwellings until further notice. Facebook users sharing the screenshot wrote, “CDC put out Ebola Warning about Burning Man Festival... government soon pulled it. Another cover-up is going on,” (here) and “Never been a fan of BURNING MAN (too dirty and dusty & unsanitary for me) but WTF?? The link in the purported CDC post (bit.ly/NjMklRjjH) redirects to an article by The Independent addressing conspiracy theories around the Burning Man festival (here). The CDC did not publish a post on an Ebola outbreak at Burning Man 2023.

Persons: ”, Read Organizations: U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Black Rock City, “ CDC, CDC, Reuters, Independent, Rock Locations: Nevada, NV, West Africa, Rock City , Nevada

☆ Fact Check-Forbes headline about Ebola outbreak at Burning Man is altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Forbes did not publish an article titled, “Yes, There’s An Ebola Outbreak At Burning Man.” Instead, it reported there was no Ebola outbreak at the Burning Man arts and music festival in the Nevada desert. “The image … appears to be an altered screenshot of a Forbes story entitled, ‘No, There’s Not An Ebola Outbreak At Burning Man,’” a spokesperson for Forbes said in an email to Reuters. The timestamp, author, and satellite image of the Burning Man festival in this article match the altered screenshot (here). Reuters found no evidence to support online claims that there was an Ebola outbreak at Burning Man (here). Forbes did not report that there was an Ebola outbreak at the Burning Man festival.

Persons: Forbes, revelers, ’ ”, ”, Scott Pauley, Read Organizations: Man, Facebook, Reuters, “ CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, U.S . Bureau of Land Management Locations: Nevada, Black Rock

☆ My miserable, euphoric, muddy escape from Burning Man
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Social media was having a field day turning Burning Man into the epicenter of schadenfreude and misinformation, the few people who managed to connect to the internet reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe reality of Burning Man was not quite so dire. 2023 was my first year at Burning Man. I'd wanted to go to Burning Man for years. Even before the floods, there was an uncomfortable tension to Burning Man.

Persons: Joy, I'd, JULIE JAMMOT, Betty, preemptively, There's, they'd, Twitter, Zeynep Tufekci, Tufekci, I've, Ansel, we'd, Rob Price Organizations: FEMA, National Guard, Social, Getty, New York Times, Rock City, YouTube Locations: Nevada, San Francisco, Silicon, playa, AFP, Somme, Northern Nevada, Rock, American, Ansel Adams, Trail

☆ Fact Check-No reported mpox outbreak at Burning Man festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Social media posts falsely reporting mpox and other diseases at the festival are circulating amid news of heavy downpours that produced a sea of sticky mud at the event in 2023 and prompted a shelter-in-place order. One post on X, formerly known as Twitter, (here) reads, “There's no ebola outbreak at Burning man.. we've received confirmation that it's just a new strain of monkeypox. However, there are no credible news reports of an mpox outbreak at Burning Man in 2023, nor do the event organizer’s social media accounts mention any cases of the disease (here), (twitter.com/bmantraffic), (www.facebook.com/burningman/). Reuters has previously addressed false claims of an Ebola outbreak at the 2023 Burning Man event (here). There have been no reports of an mpox outbreak at Burning Man 2023, according to the CDC and BLM.

Persons: “, we've, Dave Daigle, ” Daigle, ” John Asselin, Read Organizations: U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Land Management, Man, Twitter, Facebook, Reuters, CDC, Mpox, BLM, Burning Locations: Nevada, Black Rock, Marburg

☆ Fact Check-LA airport evacuated because of a suspicious item, not Burning Man quarantine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

“Private jet from Burning Man lands at LAX and get (sic) quarantined on runway and airport evacuated,” read a post sharing video of the evacuation on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter (here). The X post included hashtags #Ebola and #outbreak that refer to a separate, unfounded narrative that there was a virus outbreak at Burning Man (here). Screenshots of the X post were also shared on Facebook (here) and (here). Burning Man festival organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. LAX was not evacuated because of a quarantine or reasons related to the Burning Man festival.

Persons: revelers, ”, Dae Levine, Scott Pauley, Read Organizations: Los Angeles International Airport, Man, Reuters, Posts, LAX, Facebook, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Los, Los Angeles World Airports, CDC, U.S . Bureau of Land Management Locations: Nevada, LA, Los Angeles, Black Rock

☆ Fact Check-No evidence of Ebola outbreak at 2023 Burning Man festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence of an Ebola outbreak during the 2023 Burning Man festival, despite viral claims online. Reuters found no evidence of any such outbreak and messaging from the festival organizers and public agencies contradicts the online claims. “CDC has not received reports of Ebola nor requests for testing, or for CDC teams to deploy tied to the Burning man Festival,” a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said to Reuters in an email on Tuesday. Archives of the festival’s website and accounts associated with the festival on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, do not reveal any post warning of an Ebola outbreak (here), (here), (here). There is no evidence of an Ebola outbreak during 2023 Burning Man festival.

Persons: ”, Read Organizations: Reuters, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Bureau, Land Management, Twitter, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA Locations: Black Rock

Search resuls for: "Ebola"

25 mentions found